Recaps

Regulus returned to Hogwarts after the Easter holiday and brought Avery, Alex, and Hermes to the Room of Requirement to practice magic. He helped Avery refine the Shield Charm and gave Alex a controlled Lumos exercise as Hermes’s hunger for power continued to shape their training.

• Regulus spent the morning and afternoon studying Ancient Runes in the library before Avery and Alex returned to Hogwarts.
• Avery said his father had thanked Regulus and planned to speak with Mr. Black, while Alex said his father had told him to keep the matter quiet but had also expressed thanks.
• Hermes asked Regulus to find a place to practice magic, and Regulus invited Avery and Alex to join them at eight o’clock.
• Regulus reflected that Hermes pursued power urgently while Avery and Alex lacked motivation to train unless they were pushed.
• Regulus led the group into a training room created by the Room of Requirement and had Avery demonstrate the Shield Charm.
• Regulus corrected Avery’s Shield Charm technique and instructed Alex to practice controlling Lumos brightness in ten levels.

Regulus trained with Hermes, Avery, and Alex before secretly testing Fiendfyre, then learned that Ileana Thorne’s parents had been attacked. The news stirred fear and anger among Hogwarts students, and Dumbledore warned them to keep the outside conflict out of the school as Professor Flitwick escorted Ileana away.

• Regulus coached Hermes, Avery, and Alex through spells in the Room of Requirement and created a hidden compartment for private practice.
• Regulus briefly conjured Fiendfyre, dispersed it, and settled into his Starry sky, where Bellatrix was growing more solid.
• At breakfast, Regulus and his friends read that Callum Thorne and Lyra Thorne had been attacked and injured, and Alex recognized their daughter Ileana as a Ravenclaw student.
• Students reacted with sympathy, fear, anger, or barely concealed interest, while Narcissa Black and Lucretius Black restrained restless Slytherins.
• Dumbledore warned that Hogwarts students should not bring the outside conflict into the school, then Professor Flitwick escorted Ileana from the Great Hall.

After the attack on the Thorne family, Regulus watched tensions spread through Hogwarts and considered how factions might exploit the violence. Narcissa warned him to think carefully before joining any cause, while Regulus prepared to use an eventual confrontation to demonstrate his power and protect his position.

• The students reacted to news of the attack on the Thorne family, and Regulus recognized that the violence had made the conflict feel immediate at Hogwarts.
• In History of Magic, Regulus noticed Ravenclaw boys watching him and whispering that Slytherin must know something.
• Narcissa privately warned Regulus that factions inside and outside the Ministry were waiting for an excuse and urged him to consider any invitation carefully.
• Back in the Slytherin common room, Regulus suspected the attack and calls to purge Muggle-borns were connected to a bid for influence and Voldemort's favor.
• Regulus decided that someone would eventually challenge him and resolved to use their first move as a pretext to display his strength and deter further provocation.

Regulus advanced his Spatial Warp Charm and experimented with combining it with the Spatial Anchor Charm so spells could cross a warp passage intact. He achieved a successful test but ended mentally exhausted, while Avery and Alex continued practicing defensive magic.

• Avery demonstrated that his Shield Charm could withstand Alex’s Petrifying Spell, though he declined Hermes’s offer to test it against Dark Arts.
• Regulus coached Alex through repeated attempts to form a Shield Charm, urging him to imagine the urgency of protecting himself.
• Regulus teleported objects across the Training Room with increasing distance and precision, but avoided testing the warp on living creatures.
• Regulus’s early attempts to combine Spatial Warp with Spatial Anchor failed, first collapsing the passage and then making it too rigid for objects to pass.
• Regulus adjusted both spells’ effects and managed to send a Slowing Charm through the passage with nearly its original effect, but the experiment left him mentally exhausted.

Regulus continued developing Spatial Warp while tensions between Gryffindor and Slytherin escalated after the Thorne family scandal. When Alex told him that Gryffindors had been bullying Samuel Vance and Lina Costa, Regulus considered whether to intervene but had not yet decided to act.

• Regulus practiced Spatial Warp and considered how combining it with Spatial Anchors and Spatial Transfiguration might enable more advanced magic, but reminded himself to master the basics first.
• Ileana Thorne returned to Ravenclaw after taking three days off, and conflicts between lower-year Gryffindors and Slytherins spread until the Hospital Wing began running short of beds.
• Regulus returned to the Slytherin common room and noticed first-years Samuel Vance and Lina Costa waiting anxiously near the entrance.
• Alex told Regulus that Alphard Pruitt, Colin Macmillan, and Gareth Diggory had repeatedly cornered Samuel and Lina, disarmed them, and locked them in an abandoned lavatory.
• Regulus recognized that Samuel and Lina were isolated among the Slytherin first-years and considered publicly offering them his protection, but he did not want to intervene directly.

Regulus tasked Alex with resolving the bullying of Samuel and Lina, while Avery and Hermes supported him. The three defeated the Gryffindor first-years, and Regulus praised Alex and Avery afterward.

• Regulus asked Alex to handle the trouble Samuel and Lina faced, with Avery assisting him.
• Avery volunteered to confront Pruitt, but Regulus made him consider whether he would act for his family or as a Slytherin.
• Alex agreed to lead the response, and Hermes joined Avery as their muscle after Regulus forbade Dark Arts.
• Regulus left for the Forbidden Section while Alex explained the plan to Samuel and Lina.
• At the Room of Requirement, Avery and Alex reported that they had won the fight against the Gryffindors.
• Regulus praised Avery and Alex, who showed excitement and new confidence after the fight.

Regulus watched Alex improve his Shield Charm after a confrontation and practiced controlling Fiendfyre. The next morning, he received an anonymous warning about a planned Slytherin common-room statement and realized Lucretius Black had sent it.

• Regulus gave Avery and Alex Dittany Essence, then observed Alex form a Shield Charm strong enough to withstand Avery's first Slowing Charm.
• Regulus concluded that strong emotions could help young wizards cast spells and considered arranging more controlled challenges for practice.
• Regulus shaped Fiendfyre into a small serpent and controlled it for thirty seconds, five seconds longer than before, then failed to split the flame safely.
• At breakfast, Regulus checked an unsigned letter for magic and read a warning that someone would make a public statement in the Slytherin common room that night.
• Regulus exchanged no direct glance with Lucretius Black, but recognized him as the letter's sender.

Regulus watched for signs of a planned Slytherin common-room confrontation over the sensitive issue of pure-blood purification and prepared to see who would make the first move. By the time he arrived, most of the Slytherins had gathered, but the person behind the gathering had yet to speak.

• Regulus received an anonymous warning from Lucretius about someone planning to raise the issue of pure-blood purification in the common room, but decided to observe rather than stay out of it.
• Regulus continued his classes, earned Slytherin five points by catching a drop of Billywig venom during Potions, and told Avery, Alex, and Hermes to watch quietly that evening.
• Regulus noticed a Selwyn fifth-year and a Parkinson seventh-year acting as if they expected something to happen, then studied Ancient Runes in the Library until closing time.
• Regulus returned to find most of the Slytherin students gathered in the common room, where Lucretius and Narcissa were seated by the fireplace, and took a seat to watch.

In the Slytherin common room, Arnold Belmont tried to make Regulus publicly endorse pure-blood supremacy and the Dark Lord. Regulus exposed Arnold’s attempt as an insult to the Black family and demanded to know what price the Belmont family would pay for acting above them.

• Arnold Belmont delivered a speech praising pure-blood supremacy and called on Slytherin students to support the Dark Lord’s cause.
• Arnold invoked the Black family and Bella to pressure Regulus into declaring his support, while Dolphin Rowle watched from the shadows.
• Regulus identified Dolphin Rowle as the source of the colder malice behind the gathering, then challenged Arnold’s authority to tell a Black heir what to believe.
• Regulus stood and confronted Arnold, saying his demands showed disrespect for the Black family.
• Regulus asked what price the Belmont family was prepared to pay if it believed it could order the Blacks around, leaving Arnold pale and speechless.

Regulus turned Arnold Belmont’s pressure campaign into a confrontation between the Belmont and Black families, then disarmed and restrained Arnold in front of the common room. He ordered Arnold to remain kneeling until morning and left, while the students watched in fear and admiration.

• Regulus accused Arnold Belmont of disrespecting the Black family, turning their disagreement into a family-level conflict.
• Regulus silenced Arnold with Silencio and disarmed him with Expelliarmus, sending Arnold’s wand into the fireplace ashes.
• Regulus used Relashio and Incarcerous to force Arnold into a bound, kneeling pose before the gathered students.
• Regulus ordered Arnold to kneel until morning and warned the students not to undo the Magic or notify a professor.
• Regulus nodded to Narcissa, stopped Avery, Alex, and Hermes from following him, and left the common room.

Regulus reported Arnold Belmont’s public insult to his father and used the confrontation to reinforce the Black family’s standing among the Pure-blood Circle. After spending the night training in the Room of Requirement, he returned to the common room and prepared for the day as his friends reacted to his growing reputation.

• Regulus sent Orion a letter explaining Arnold’s insult and urging the Black family to draw a clear boundary with the Belmont family.
• After Regulus left, Slytherin students discussed Arnold’s humiliation, the families’ rules, and the consequences of Regulus’s actions.
• Regulus reflected on how the incident might affect the Cleaning the Trash operation, then practiced Spatial Warp, Fiendfyre, and Spell Warp in the Room of Requirement.
• Regulus returned at four in the morning and found Arnold still immobilized and kneeling by the fireplace.
• At six thirty, Avery told Regulus that younger students admired him, and Regulus left the dormitory with Avery, Alex, and Hermes at seven.

Regulus received support from his family and Slytherin after forcing Arnold Belmont to kneel, while Professor Slughorn formally punished him with a week of detention. Arnold left Hogwarts to recuperate, and the conflict between the Black and Belmont families remained unresolved.

• Slytherin students praised Regulus, and Lucretius Burke told him Professor Slughorn wanted to see him and was not angry.
• Narcissa told Regulus that the Malfoy family supported him and said she was proud of him.
• Orion sent Regulus a letter promising that the Belmont family would pay, while Sirius watched him uneasily from the Gryffindor table.
• Professor Slughorn told Regulus that Arnold Belmont had left Hogwarts to recuperate and that his family hoped he could sit his exams.
• Regulus said his personal dispute with Arnold was over, and Professor Slughorn declared the school matter closed with one week of detention processing potion ingredients.

Regulus attended Charms after last night’s confrontation and considered how Muggle-borns misunderstood the Pure-blood conflict. In the Library, he sat across from Lily Evans and Severus Snape, whose loyalties to the Pure-blood faction and Lily left him deeply conflicted.

• Regulus attended Professor Flitwick’s Charms lesson while Russell Clark watched him with disgust over the previous night’s humiliation.
• Regulus reflected that his retaliation against Arnold Belmont had redirected Slytherin’s hostility inward and temporarily shielded Muggle-born students.
• Regulus went to the Library to research restraint-related Rune variations and found Lily Evans and Severus Snape at his usual table.
• Lily looked between Regulus and Snape as Regulus sat down, and Snape grew uncomfortable under their gaze.
• Snape struggled with his desire to earn acceptance from the Pure-blood faction while wanting to protect his Muggle-born friend Lily.

Regulus thanked Snape for asking him to protect Lily, but challenged Snape’s attempt to claim credit, while Lily resolved to ask Regulus about his actions. As exams approached, Regulus demonstrated his ability to draw Magic Power from a Calming Flower and prepared to use it on Alex’s crumpled parchment.

• Snape thanked Regulus in the Library, and Regulus pointed out that he had not intervened for Snape’s sake before leaving to say goodbye to Lily.
• Lily questioned Snape about his conversation with Regulus, then decided to ask Regulus herself about the incident involving Arnold Belmont.
• Hogwarts settled into a brief calm after Arnold Belmont was taken away, though James, Sirius, Lupin, Peter, and Slytherins continued to clash in pranks and ambushes.
• On June tenth, three days before exams, students panicked over revision while Regulus remained calm and Alex struggled with exam stress.
• Regulus drew a bead of glowing Magic Power from Alex’s Calming Flower, then aimed his Wand at a crumpled scrap of parchment.

Regulus helped Alex and Avery focus by creating a soothing magical bird, then completed his exams and continued practicing Spatial Warp and Fiendfyre. After shaping Fiendfyre into a bird, he discovered it damaged spatial stability and wondered whether Natural Magic could be combined with it.

• Regulus infused a transfigured paper bird with calming Magic Power, and its chirps eased Alex's and Avery's agitation.
• Regulus earned an O in his Charms, Transfiguration, and Potions exams.
• Regulus identified limits in his Spatial Warp anchors and continuous spellcasting, and considered ways to improve his technique.
• Regulus practiced shaping Fiendfyre into a detailed bird, but struggled to give it autonomy and maintain control at a distance.
• Regulus extinguished the Fiendfyre Bird after it weakened spatial stability, then wondered whether he could combine Fiendfyre with Natural Magic.

Regulus experimented with using Starry Sky Imagery to control Fiendfyre, then learned that the Belmont family had left Britain after surrendering its UK properties and smuggling channels. After exams ended, Lily Evans asked him why he had treated Arnold Belmont the way he did, and Regulus asked what she thought his reason was.

• Regulus projected an image of stellar restraint onto a Fiendfyre Bird, but the flames grew unstable and he extinguished them.
• Regulus considered using supernova and black-hole imagery to make Fiendfyre more destructive, but decided he lacked the control to try it.
• Regulus rejected the idea of sending Fiendfyre through a Spatial Channel because it might burn the channel and cause a spatial collapse.
• Narcissa told Regulus that the Belmont family had surrendered its UK properties and smuggling channels before moving to Eastern Europe.
• After exam results showed that Regulus had received all O's, he went to the Library instead of joining the end-of-term celebrations.
• Lily Evans asked Regulus why he had treated Arnold Belmont that way, and Regulus asked her what she thought his reason was.

Lily told Regulus she understood why he had defended his family’s honor and supported him, and the school year ended with Slytherin winning the House Cup. Regulus told Sirius that Orion wanted him home for the holidays, and Sirius agreed to return despite fearing the pressure and consequences of confronting his family.

• Lily explained that she had asked Marcia Flint about Pure-blood customs and now accepted Regulus’s actions, even if she did not fully understand them.
• At the end-of-term feast, Dumbledore announced that Slytherin had won the House Cup and offered the students parting advice.
• Regulus crossed the Great Hall and told Sirius that Orion wanted him to come home for the holidays.
• James objected angrily, but Sirius calmed him and acknowledged that he had received Orion’s letter.
• Sirius decided to return to the Black family home to protect the Potter family from the consequences of his defiance, and James promised to keep in touch.

Sirius and Regulus returned to Grimmauld Place, where their contrasting lives and strained family relationships resurfaced during dinner. Orion summoned them to the Training Room and ordered the brothers to spar so he could assess their progress.

• Kreacher brought Sirius and Regulus from King's Cross Station to 12 Grimmauld Place, where Walburga praised Regulus and coldly greeted Sirius.
• At dinner, Walburga focused on Regulus while Sirius felt ignored and grew angry at his brother's success and their family's expectations.
• Sirius returned to his childhood bedroom and reflected on his alienation from the Black family and his difficulty facing Regulus and Orion.
• Regulus came to fetch Sirius, and the brothers followed him to the hidden Training Room beneath Orion's study.
• Orion examined his sons and told them to spar so he could see how much they had improved.

Orion had Sirius spar with Regulus, hoping the experience would motivate Sirius to pursue strength. Regulus overwhelmed Sirius’s spells with a Constant Shield Charm, then closed in and struck him in the ribs.

• Orion told Sirius to fight Regulus, and the brothers took their positions in the Training Room.
• Sirius attacked with a series of spells, but Regulus’s Constant Shield Charm blocked them all without slowing his approach.
• Regulus judged Sirius’s dueling skills to be ordinary and lacking even basic footwork.
• Regulus reached Sirius, asked if that was all, and pressed his hand beneath Sirius’s ribs before striking with force.

Regulus fought Sirius and then dueled Orion in the Training Room, revealing the force of his Starry Sky-enhanced magic. The duel with Orion continued as he countered Regulus with a weakening curse.

• Regulus struck Sirius beneath the ribs with a punch, leaving him humiliated and eager to watch the next fight.
• Orion told Sirius to watch as he and Regulus took their positions and began dueling.
• Regulus used a Supernova Explosion image to empower his Greater Blasting Curse, nearly overwhelming Orion's Shield Charm.
• Regulus dodged Orion's spells and attacked with a series of curses, while Orion defended and countered with enhanced Incendio.
• Orion released a dark-red weakening mist, and Regulus tried to disperse it with Aguamenti, but some of it corroded his clothes.

Regulus and Orion fought in the Training Room, where Orion gained the advantage by plunging the room into darkness and attacking from unseen directions. Regulus struggled to evade him with limited perception as Sirius watched from the doorway.

• Regulus and Orion exchanged spells and movement techniques, with Regulus realizing that neither could easily break the other's defenses.
• Regulus secretly cast the Cruciatus Curse, but Orion vanished and covered the Training Room in darkness that suppressed light and Magic Perception.
• Regulus tried Lumos and his Patronus, but the darkness limited both to a small area and swallowed his perception beyond five meters.
• Sirius watched the duel in astonishment, unable to see or hear what happened after the darkness descended.
• Regulus raced unpredictably through the darkness, chaining movement spells while trying to evade Orion's unseen attacks.

Regulus lost a difficult duel with Orion after Orion used a false magical fluctuation to draw out his Spatial Magic and ambushed him with the Cruciatus Curse. Afterward, Sirius struggled to reconcile Regulus’s calm demeanor with the skilled fighter he had just witnessed.

• Regulus detected a false spatial and magical fluctuation, opened a Spatial Channel, and fired the Cruciatus Curse at where he thought Orion was.
• Orion struck Regulus with the Cruciatus Curse from another direction, pinned his shoulder, and held a Wand to his throat, ending the duel.
• Orion praised Regulus, and the two recovered while Regulus realized Orion had used a trap to counter his Space Magic.
• Orion asked Sirius whether he understood the duel, then told Regulus to rest before discussing the holiday arrangements in the study.
• Sirius questioned Regulus about his fighting and asked whether he was the same at school, but Regulus said he could not act that way there.

Regulus showed Orion how his Spatial Warp Charm could transport objects and spells, then explained how to cast it with the Spatial Anchor Charm. Orion watched closely as Regulus taught him the technique, leaving the two of them poised to continue their holiday plans.

• Regulus told Orion he planned to spend the holiday practicing magic rather than attending more social events.
• Regulus demonstrated the Spatial Warp Charm by transporting an ink bottle across Orion's desk.
• Regulus combined the Spatial Warp Charm with the Spatial Anchor Charm to send a Disarming Charm through a spatial channel.
• Orion reacted with astonishment as Regulus explained the spell's structure, limitations, and casting technique.
• Regulus began a third demonstration, but Orion coughed and told him that was enough.

Regulus demonstrated his Spatial Warp Charm to Orion, then discussed holiday training and a future combat task. Later, Sirius admitted he had been waiting for Regulus and asked how he had achieved his magic.

• Orion successfully cast the Spatial Warp Charm after watching Regulus demonstrate it and praised his son.
• Orion told Regulus to focus on magic practice during the holiday and promised to arrange a family task involving actual combat after a month.
• Regulus considered the skills he still needed to improve before facing real opponents, including Spatial Warp, Fiendfyre, and Natural Magic.
• Orion asked Regulus what direction Sirius should pursue, and Regulus recommended Transfiguration.
• Regulus found Sirius listening outside his room, entered, and recognized that Sirius had prepared tea for him.
• Sirius reflected on the purpose of the duel and asked Regulus, "How did you do it?"

Regulus advised Sirius to discover his magical strengths and consider what magic meant to him, while keeping his own suspicions about Sirius's talent to himself. The next morning, Orion tested Sirius's spells and arranged for Gerald Hawk to train him in the basics for two weeks.

• Regulus told Sirius to explore what he was good at, what he wanted magic to accomplish, and what he was willing to pay for it.
• Sirius questioned Regulus's reasons for offering advice, but Regulus left without explaining and returned to his room to prepare for holiday training.
• Orion tested Sirius's spells and found that, despite knowing the classroom material, his magic lacked depth, range, power, and precision.
• Orion brought Gerald Hawk to the Training Room and assigned him to teach Sirius the basics for the next two weeks.
• Sirius disliked the idea of starting with fundamentals under an outsider, but accepted that he needed to improve his foundation.